Fayette, Mo. - The No. 8 Central Methodist baseball team opened a four game series with Evangel Sunday afternoon at Estes Field. The Eagles cruised past the Valor in game one, 24-2 before just edging Evangel in the second game, 7-5. 

With the two wins, Central improves to 20-3 and 6-0 in conference play while the Valor fall to 12-10 and 3-3 in the Heart. 

In the first game of the day, CMU's offense scored in every inning, highlighted by a six-run second and seven-run fourth inning. Tommaso Giarola led the Eagle bats, batting three-of-four with five RBI including a double and a home run.

Robbie Merced also continues his impressive tear through the early season, as the junior shortstop batted a perfect three-for-three including a grand slam, two walks, and a game-high seven RBI. 

Senior pitcher Beau Atkins pushed his record to a perfect 4-0, tossing five compete innings and giving up only two earned runs on five hits with seven strikeouts. 

Anthony G. Rodriguez and Micah Blankenship came in relief for the final two innings of work, giving up only one combined hit against nine total batters. 

CMU scored a run in the first inning followed by a five-run second inning to take a 6-1 lead early on in game two. Evangel chipped away at the lead in the later innings, capitlizing on two Central miscues. However, Central's pitching staff was able to keep the Valor off the board with runners on the bases to preserve a two-run victory. 

Merced and Logan McDonald each recorded two hits for the Eagles, both including home runs. McDonald finished the day with four RBI while Merced added to his home run total of 17 on the season. Junior first basemen Victor Plaz also picked up a double. 

Sebastian Escobar earned his sixth win of the year, pitching five complete innings and allowing only two earned runs on five hits with seven K's. Tyler Vicars came in relief for 1.2 innings, striking out three batters. Nino Puckett earned the save by retiring the final batter of the game with runners on the corners. 

Central will conclude the series with the Valor with a doubleheader beginning at 12:00 p.m. Monday, March 22 at Estes Field. 

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